Chapter Text
Akito sat at one of the tables, looking over some crase documents. As of the past few days since his escape, the agency hasn’t let up, especially on vivid street. He couldn’t help but mentally beat himself up for that… It was his fault after all. He was lost in thought as he skimmed the pages covering the table, his mocha untouched.
“Whatcha lookin’ at~?”
Akito nearly turned around and swung whoever was behind him, but paused as he recognized the Alchemist, all dressed up for a job.
“Oh. It’s you.”
"All I did was ask you a question. Are you still mad at me? I helped get you out of there." Rui replied, a small grin still on his face.
“You’re the reason I was stuck in that place!” Akito shot back. However, he then paused and took a breath. “… Fine. It’s fine. Whatever. Just… learn to be a team player.”
"Maybe I'll consider it. After you tell me why you spoke of my weaponry business to Toya." Rui inquired. Akito could've given away worse information about him. Though, he'd been curious why Akito didn't just give him up completely after what he did to him.
“Getting shot didn’t sound too pleasant. That’s all.” Akito stated bluntly.
"I'm just surprised you didn't give everything up. Especially since I overheard you were interrogated by Toya." Rui commented. "But it could've been Tsukasa who questioned you so, I guess you got lucky. Not to mention, for all you know, they might've been tempted to kill you no matter what."
“Honestly, I don’t think that Aoyagi guy’s the worst of them. He actually… seemed like a decent guy.” Akito trailed off, then cleared his throat. “I thought about that too… though… That they probably would have just killed me anyways. It wouldn’t have been worth it to throw you under the bus, you know?” He shrugged, dismissing the comment from Rui.
"You say he's a decent guy but he would also kill you if asked to. What happened that made you go and play the dangerous game of getting all soft for an officer?" Rui asked, moving around to take a seat across from him instead of continuing to stand.
“I’m not… soft. He seemed really hesitant to even lay a hand on me. I just… want to know why he was being so kind. That’s all.” Akito deflected.
"Kindness is scarce with the agency. But I can't help but wonder." Rui paused. "If you met again, would you put aside fighting him and ask him?" Rui then questioned.
“Ugh… I don’t know. I mean, I still can’t trust that he wouldn’t try to kill me. It’s not like I have any other information they need.” Akito leaned back in his chair, staring down at the mess of documents and his cold coffee on the table.
"Well if you warmed up to him, how do you think he feels after everything? Did he say anything outright about you?" Rui asked. "I mean from the looks of it the agencys been on your brain more than usual." He commented, glancing at the table.
“… I mean.. he said I was… different than he thought. Whatever that means.” Akito shrugs. “… And the agency hasn’t left this area alone since we got out. I think breaking me out only made us seem like more of a threat to them…”
"Different, huh? I guess you two left similar impressions on each other then." Rui hummed. "I don't think they were happy with how coordinated our rescue was. Especially with how many people we got in and out."
Akito nodded, staring down at some of the documents. One in particular was rather concerning- Crase had placed a bounty on his head, as well as those of An and Kohane. That meant trouble not just from the agency but others who are desperate enough for the money. “I know… if you ask me, you guys shouldn’t have been stupid enough to break into the agency.” He then slid the document over to Rui to see.
"Well I think Ken would've actually killed me if you died in there." Rui replied, picking up the paper to get a look. "Woah! You guys have one too now?! I'm so proud!" Rui exclaimed.
Akito shot a glare at the other. “Unlike you, we aren’t solo acts… we’re responsible for each other and… if one of us is found out, all of us are.” He explained, looking over the documents. “They’re offering a pretty high price for us… damn it…”
Maybe if I excuse myself for a while, it’ll be easier… it’s my own fault we’re in this situation.
Akito shook his head and skimmed through some security footage on a hologram, watching the events of the breakout over again. He watches as Kohane rushes over to his cell, immediately hugging him. He can’t hide the softness that surfaces just for a moment before he clears his head and speaks again. “They know what Kohane looks like now, too…”
Rui held back from commenting on Akito's change in expression. It wasn't the time to keep teasing him. Kohane hadn't gone on any major missions yet. So, Akito had a point. "You guys should be a little more careful for a while and stick together. Ken has some positive connections so you have a better chance of not being ratted out." Rui told him with a small sigh, setting the paper down. "I... I can also see what I can do to improve your guys’ tech for protection."
“We appreciate it…” Akito sighs and takes a sip of his coffee, which had gone cold by this point. He chokes, disappointed by the taste and quickly sets it back down. “Fuck… left it out too long…” He rubbed his eyes, pushing aside his exhaustion as he continues to look over the footage. “I do wish you took out the cameras in the prison bay, but… whatever. You got most of them…” he dismissed the hologram, turning his attention to Rui. “… You have that little assistant, right? The one in your goggles? Are there any features in those that could help us?”
Rui thought for a moment about how lucky he got with the cameras he did knock out. Though, maybe he should have considered giving An and Kohane their own bombs too. It was too late to dwell on it. He thought for a moment, if he could get the others assistants then they could use all the features he had. The agency had enough of his protection, given how things were now he could spare some for the café. "Yeah, there's a ton." Rui nodded, taking a disc out of his zipper pocket and setting it down on the table. He pushed a button and Len appeared. "Len's got heat sensors, a zoom lens, aim assist, a prototype shield, and much more." Rui began to explain. "I'm sure those would be useful."
“Ah! Rui! You didn’t tell me I was supposed to show off!” Len quickly panicked, looking up at Akito. “Oh, it’s you again! Hello!”
Akito gave the AI a small wave. “Even just a few of those features would be great, we don’t need something this fancy… but, I overheard you telling Mizuki that your shield broke immediately after being hit, that right?” He asked.
“Yeah! I thought I was a goner!” Len answered before Rui could. “The shield shattered, and I think it messed with my code a bit.”
“So… why not make disposable shields? Ones that aren’t directly connected to the rest of your stuff, but you can throw them out in a pinch?” Akito suggested.
"The blast from Tsukasa's gun shattered my goggles completely along with the shield. Like Len said we're lucky I was able to recover him." Rui explained. "Though, I've never really thought about that. I've been wanting to improve so that the AI can produce the shield instead of having to manually fire them but, I haven't been able to figure out how to defect that kind of force without immediate termination. Though, if the AI could shoot a disposable shield then it wouldn't be connected to it after firing..." Rui began to ramble a little bit, the idea taking hold as many more fired up in his brain from it.
“It’s a good alternative until you figure it out.” Akito pointed out, smiling a bit as he heard Rui begin to ramble. It was kind of entertaining, and he had to admit, he was starting to not hate Rui’s company. It was a welcome distraction from this mess.
"Thanks for giving me the idea. I'll set you guys up with something soon, I've been working on a couple different versions of Len so, I'll give them my complete focus starting tomorrow." Rui told him.
Akito nodded a bit in understanding, once again rubbing his eyes to keep himself awake. “Just don’t get yourself into any shit. We can’t deal with more of that right now” He half-joked.
"Hmmm, I might just have to since you said something about it." Rui told him with a laugh. "I've been wanting to break into the agency's presidents office for a while now…"
“I’m not bailing you out.”
"Come on! I bailed you out!" Rui exclaimed. "Be a team player." He chuckled as he repeated Akito's previous words to him.
“Get out of here before I hurt you.” Akito shot back, glaring at the alchemist.
Rui laughed for a good moment before he put the disc on the table away. "Message received." He commented and stood up. "Don't work yourself to death or I just might turn your corpse in for cash." He joked, patting Akito on the shoulder before he continued walking.
Akito watched the other leave, and he got back to work, feeling a small tinge of relief wash over him. He relaxed a bit, resting his head in his hand, slowly giving in to the drowsiness
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God akito’s so me coded ~Bee
Mentally ill - bandage
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